The Closest Cat Cafe to Walt Disney World

Orlando has been waiting eagerly for a cat cafe for a long time, and it has been a long time since the original groundbreaking and open house party for the Orlando Cat Cafe. But the wait is over, and I was fortunate to visit the cat cafe near Walt Disney World less than a week after it opened.

The first confusing thing about the Orlando Cat Cafe is that you don’t enter through the cat cafe itself. That door on the front is sealed to prevent escaping cats.

Instead, you enter through Axum Coffee, next door. At first glance, Axum looks like a regular coffee shop inside.

But you quickly notice a large window into the storefront next door where the cats are.

After you pay for your entrance at the coffee bar, you get a sticker to wear that identifies your assigned time with the cats. When it is your assigned time, you enter a door into vestibule between the two storefronts. The door is so close to the front of the coffee shop that it is hard for the staff to control access to it while also tending the coffee bar. That probably wasn’t thought out as well as they hoped.

Once you enter the tiny room between the two storefronts, you get instructions from a staffer from South Lake Animal League about the cats: no chasing, no picking up, no flash photography.

After I entered the cat area, there was a nearly-immediate demonstration of why they used the vestibule for entry and exit as a Siamese-type cat who was in the cafe made a break for the door only to be caught by the staffer.

For anyone who wasn’t listening carefully, the rules of the cafe are posted on the wall inside, too.

The cafe serves as an off-site adoption center for the South Lake Animal League, so they provide a way to sign up for newsletters from the organization on site.

There is also a bulletin board that tells you more about the adoptable cats currently in the cafe. There were two cats who had just arrived, and their fliers weren’t up yet.

Cat litter is tidily kept out of sight in a staff-only area, and cats can access it through a cat door. I’m not sure why the symbol for the male cat has no eyes. Maybe he is mid-blink.

The place makes really good use of vertical space on the walls, with walkways, shelves, and cubbyholes mounted directly to the walls to make space for the cats to rest or observe.

There were also some very nice cat trees scattered around the room for the cats to climb. This little guy really wasn’t sure about making the leap down to the next level of the cat tree.

Since it was mid-afternoon, I caught a lot of cats during naps.

While I was visiting, a volunteer from the animal rescue league arrived to give the staffer on site a lunch break. The volunteer was a retiree, and I thought it was interesting that she was wearing a “Team Dog” t-shirt. Thankfully, the cats couldn’t read to be offended by it.

While I was taking a photo of this kitten, a retired woman with no sticker indicating she had paid to be in the cafe let herself in the door. As I mentioned above, the location of the entry door isn’t well-controlled in the coffeeshop, and that makes it fairly easy for someone to wander in. The retiree asked the volunteer if she had to pay if she just wanted to look around. “If you’re going to stay,” the volunteer replied.

A moment later, the retired lady asked, “So are they all declawed and everything?” It’s a good thing my back was to the conversation, because I am sure my expression wasn’t neutral. The dog-shirted volunteer said something about only if they arrive declawed. What a missed opportunity for education!

The retired lady wandered out and I continued taking photos. A few minutes later, she was back, this time with her husband, who also didn’t have on a sticker indicating he had paid admission, either. They circulated around a few more minutes before leaving. I’m sure the newly-opened cafe will find a better way to monitor the entrance door, or work with the volunteers on how ask people to leave who haven’t paid their fee, but it was interesting to see the early growing pains of the place.

The original staffer emerged from the back room a little later, and I took the opportunity to ask her about whether they had seen adoptions from the cafe yet. “We’re still going through lots of applications,” she told me.

I think this could become a valuable adoption location for the rescue organization, and I recognize that when I was there, they had only been open 5 days. It takes longer than that to get everyone trained in the processes and procedures.

In the meantime, it’s a fun place to visit to say hello to the cats available for adoption. Who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love! I’m sure it will also be popular with Disney visitors who miss their cats back home, since it is the closest cat cafe to Walt Disney World.

Just be careful when you leave. They already have one escape artist cat, and you don’t want to be the one who lets her out!

Transportation Options to the Orlando Cat Cafe

The easiest way to get to the Orlando Cat Cafe is to drive. If you arrived on vacation by air and didn’t rent a car, you’ll need ground transportation. Taxi service in Orlando tends to be expensive, and the biggest local transportation company’s fare estimator says that a trip from Disney’s Contemporary resort to the Orlando Cat Cafe will cost a $39.06 fare one-way.

A less-expensive option is Uber, which estimates $15-19 each way to get from Disney’s Contemporary Resort to the Orlando Cat Cafe. If you haven’t tried Uber before, you can sign up through this invitation link to get $10 free credit for your first ride with them (disclosure: I also get credit if you do).

The least expensive option is using the local Lynx bus system, at $2 each direction. Plan for up to two hours travel time due to transfers. You can use the Plan a Trip function on the Lynx site to see the bus schedules available for your visit.

Comments

OH MY Stars I love that awning!!
Yesterday mom went for a walk she had on a t shirt that read “must love cats”.
she told dad their friend’s dog must have read it cause he tried to convince her she must love dogs by loving all over her.
Hugs madi your bfff

This was a great review. They should hire you to educate their staff on what they should be doing. Since it was only open 5 days, hopefully that will change. The lady asking about declawing was like nails on a chalkboard!!!

I have been wondering when you were going to tell us more about the Orlando Cat Cafe. It sounds like it will be a great place to feature adoptable cats once they work out all their growing pains. Thanks for a great post!

We’d expect problems in getting to a smooth routine, too. Hopefully, those staffers are in contact with other cat cafes around the country and world. What a wealth of information that would be for the mutual benefit of all – cats, adopters, visitors, and staff! Thanks for sharing your trip and experience with us!

I love that there is an outdoor cafe to sit and enjoy and coffee. Maybe they could list adoptables on the menu to peruse before or after visiting. It look like a good space and all new businesses have a learning curve. As more cat cafes open, we can learn how they can improve from each one.

It looks like a great place, and I hope the bugs soon get ironed out. It is a pity the volunteer didn’t explain that declawing is torture though. It would be an idea for them to have various educational posters including one on why cats shouldn’t be declawed. That is good news that they have had some adoptions.

What a prime location for a cat cafe! You wouldn’t want to be too close to Disney World or you would have an uncontrollable amount of visitors (that aren’t likely to adopt a cat) coming in and out. It is sad that the volunteer didn’t take the time to explain why it isn’t okay to declaw cats to that lady. There are a lot of people who don’t know the truth about declawing.

It appears that the area for the cats is very nice. The sign outside is so cute and should definitely attract visitors. With time, they will surely find a way to better control the entrance. Mom wishes we had a cat cafe here. Thanks for sharing. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

Read Ashton’s Story in Rescued, Volume 2

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